Jo-Han 1971 and 1972 Oldsmobile Toronado comparison

[the other Mike S.]

15 hours ago, Motor City said:

Look at photos of the '74 442 and '74 Cutlass S and you'll see the difference.  The Cutlass S and Supreme shared the same squared off grille with vertical bars and the same header.  The last photo is the '74 promo, which has the 442 grille (chrome horizontal bars instead of black) and Oldsmobile script instead of 442 numbers.  I've thought of making a '74 442 by copying the fender 442 numbers from a '70-'72 model, but trying to fabricate the louvered hood killed the deal. 

 

Thanks.  I thought the Cutlass S shared the same front grill/header as the 442 in 1:1 scale.  On the Johan promo, you can still see the more beveled header remnant from the '73 tool.  However, they didn't do that bad of a job with the front bumper/grill to disguise it.

Another tidbit...the Johan '64 Cadillac still had the '63 style rear fins.  If you look at the real car, the fins on the '64 were reduced even further in height compared to the '63. 

That makes me wonder if that was a last minute pre-production decision as well.  I'm thinking not because Bill Mitchell's design directive at that time was to gradually reduce the height of the fins (over several model years) after the outrageous peak in '59.

 

Edited November 25, 2020 by the other Mike S.

[the other Mike S.]

1 hour ago, tim boyd said:

Interesting info here on the Jo-Han promos, and the real cars.  Never noticed those diffs before.

As to promo and annual kit inaccuracies vs. the real cars, a lot of it can be traced to the timelines for the model kit and promo tooling development vs. last minute changes as the full size cars went into production.  

At the model car companies, the details on annual kits and promos for the next model year were generally locked down based on manufacturer plans as of March each year, so the tools could be sent out (or new tools developed) into the supply base to be ready for production at the model company plants later in the year.  But the plans for the real 1/1 scale cars often experienced detail changes right up to and beyond Job #1, generally the following August or September.   So there was a 5-6 month period where 1/1 scale cars could change and yet the models and promos were already committed based on the plans as of an earlier date. 

There are many examples of this in the model kit world, and some of them offer interesting insights into the 1/1 scale manufacturer product plans, that changed at the last minute.  This was particularly true during the muscle car years of the late 1960's and early 1970's.  I did an entire article on this, with many examples, in the other model car magazine about 5 or 6 years ago.  Just one example?  Up until the very last minute the 1972 Charger and Challenger performance sub-brand offerings were to continue the "R/T" nomenclature, not the exceedingly generic "Rallye" branding that finally appeared.   How do we know this?  Because the decal sheet that accompanied the MPC 1972 Charger and Challenger promos included the stillborn  "R/T" graphics (and yes, they were different than the 1971 R/T graphics).  

It happened on non-muscle cars too.  The Revell 1962 Newport convertible included a large decklid molding that was entirely consistent with the Exner era ornamentation, but that trim pieces was not found on the 1/1 scale production car.  The MPC 1966 Monaco 500 kit had two errors in exterior ornamentation, surely a casualty of Dodge's last minute vacillation on 1/1 series C-body badging/nomenclature and the impact of same on series differential - the MPC body included fendertop moldings that never appeared on the real car, and was missing the lower front bumper to wheel opening trim that did appear on the real car. 

Hope this helps explain...  TIM     

PS - here's a look at that non-production 1962 Newport trim piece - it surrounds the trunk lock bezel, directly above the license plate....

Great info.  Thanks Tim!

[Motor City]

Mike,

The '73 442 and Cutlass shared the same header panel.  The 442 had more attractive grille inserts and a 442 emblem between the grille sections.  The Cutlass Supreme had an entirely different grille and header panel, and was also very attractive.  

Another incorrect detail was the rectangular emblem on the front fenders of the '71 GTO, which shouldn't be there.

 

 

[the other Mike S.]

4 hours ago, Motor City said:

Yeah, I know. I was talking about the '74.  The 442 had it's own specific grill/header panel compared to other Cutlass models for the '74MY.  I thought the '74 Cutlass "S" shared the same grill/header.  It looks like the 442 had it's own unique grill/header in '74.  Something that is suprising to me since auto manufacturers like to share parts on other models to reduce costs.

In '75, the grill/header panel on the 442 was shared with other Cutlass models.  So, for '75 the Johan Cutlass became even more inaccurate compared to the real car.  However, the promo market was rapidly dying and Oldsmobile probably didn't care that much like the old days.  

Johan '75 Cutlass promo compared to the real 1:1 scale 1975 Cutlass and 442 model.  

Edited November 25, 2020 by the other Mike S.

[ChrisBcritter]

On 11/25/2020 at 7:33 AM, tim boyd said:

The Revell 1962 Newport convertible included a large decklid molding that was entirely consistent with the Exner era ornamentation, but that trim pieces was not found on the 1/1 scale production car.

Hope this helps explain...  TIM     

PS - here's a look at that non-production 1962 Newport trim piece - it surrounds the trunk lock bezel, directly above the license plate....

Tim, that must be an early production kit - I have four '62 Newport bodies and none of them have that trim piece. Note also there's no trim around the license plate opening, which mine all have. If you have a picture of the front of that model, I'll bet it also has "CHRYSLER" embossed in the grille surround; I've seen a couple photos of one but neither grille I have has it. Then there's the firewall with the '61 details which was never corrected, and the air cleaner which was for a 318 Poly...

Edited November 26, 2020 by ChrisBcritter

[tim boyd]

3 hours ago, ChrisBcritter said:

Tim, that must be an early production kit - I have four '62 Newport bodies and none of them have that trim piece. Note also there's no trim around the license plate opening, which mine all have. If you have a picture of the front of that model, I'll bet it also has "CHRYSLER" embossed in the grille surround; I've seen a couple photos of one but neither grille I have has it. Then there's the firewall with the '61 details which was never corrected, and the air cleaner which was for a 318 Poly...

Chris....here you go....not easy to see, but just as you suspected.....Chrysler letters on grille surround.....   Really interesting to think that they changed it mid-stream.  TIM